No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.

45

It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all
be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes
to me.

46

Not that anyone has seen the Father except the
one who is from God; he has seen the Father.

47

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has
eternal life.

48

I am the bread of life.

49

Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but
they died;

50

this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.

51

I am the living bread that came down from
heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will
give is my flesh for the life of the world."

52

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"

53

Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to
you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not
have life within you.

54

Whoever eats 19 my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

55

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true
drink.

56

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.

57

Just as the living Father sent me and I have
life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life
because of me.

58

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike
your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live
forever."

59

These things he said while teaching in the
synagogue in Capernaum.

60

20 Then many of his disciples who were listening
said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?"

61

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were
murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?

62

What if you were to see the Son of Man
ascending to where he was before? 21

63

It is the spirit that gives life, while the
flesh 22 is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are
spirit and life.

64

But there are some of you who do not
believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and
the one who would betray him.

65

And he said, "For this reason I have told
you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."

66

As a result of this, many (of) his disciples
returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.

67

Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you
also want to leave?"

68

Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

69

We have come to believe and are convinced that
you are the Holy One of God."

70

Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you
twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?"

71

He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the
Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve.

1 [1] [Of Tiberias]: the awkward
apposition represents a later name of the Sea of Galilee. It was probably
originally a marginal gloss.

2 [1-15] This story of the
multiplication of the loaves is the fourth sign (cf the note on
⇒ John 5:1-47). It is the only miracle story found in
all four gospels (occurring twice in Mark and Matthew). See the notes on
⇒ Matthew 14:13-21;
⇒ 15:32-39. John differs on the roles of Philip and
Andrew, the proximity of Passover (⇒ John 6:4), and
the allusion to Elisha (see ⇒ John 6:9). The story
here symbolizes the food that is really available through Jesus. It connotes a
new exodus and has eucharistic overtones.

9 [14] The Prophet: probably the
prophet like Moses (see the note on ⇒ John 1:21).
The one who is to come into the world: probably Elijah; cf
⇒ Malachi 3:1, ⇒ 23.

10 [16-21] The fifth sign is a nature
miracle, portraying Jesus sharing Yahweh's power. Cf the parallel stories
following the multiplication of the loaves in ⇒ Mark
6:45-52 and ⇒ Matthew 14:22-33.

11 [19] Walking on the sea: although
the Greek (cf ⇒ John 6:16) could mean "on the
seashore" or "by the sea" (cf ⇒ John
21:1), the parallels, especially ⇒ Matthew
14:25, make clear that Jesus walked upon the water. John may allude
to ⇒ Job 9:8: God "treads upon the crests of the
sea."

12 [20] It is I: literally, "I
am." See also the notes on ⇒ John 4:26 and
⇒ Mark 6:50.

13 [22-71] Discourse on the bread of
life; replacement of the manna. ⇒ John 6:22-34 serve
as an introduction, ⇒ John 6:35-59 constitute the
discourse proper, ⇒ John 6:60-71 portray the
reaction of the disciples and Peter's confession.

14 [23] Possibly a later interpolation,
to explain how the crowd got to Capernaum.

15 [27] The food that endures for
eternal life: cf ⇒ John 4:14, on water
"springing up to eternal life."

16 [31] Bread from heaven: cf
⇒ Exodus 16:4, ⇒ 15,
⇒ 32-34 and the notes there;
⇒ Psalm 78:24. The manna, thought to have been
hidden by Jeremiah (⇒ 2 Macc 2:5-8), was expected to
reappear miraculously at Passover, in the last days.

17 [35-59] Up to
⇒ John 6:50 "bread of life" is a figure
for God's revelation in Jesus; in ⇒ John 6:51-58,
the eucharistic theme comes to the fore. There may thus be a break between
⇒ John 6:50-51.

19 [54-58] Eats: the verb used in
these verses is not the classical Greek verb used of human eating, but that of
animal eating: "munch," "gnaw." This may be part of John's
emphasis on the reality of the flesh and blood of Jesus (cf ⇒ John
6:55), but the same verb eventually became the ordinary verb in Greek
meaning "eat."

20 [60-71] These verses refer more to
themes of ⇒ John 6:35-50 than to those of
⇒ John 6:51-58 and seem to be addressed to members
of the Johannine community who found it difficult to accept the high
christology reflected in the bread of life discourse.

21 [62] This unfinished conditional
sentence is obscure. Probably there is a reference to ⇒ John
6:49-51. Jesus claims to be the bread that comes down from heaven
(⇒ John 6:50); this claim provokes incredulity
(⇒ John 6:60); and so Jesus is pictured as asking
what his disciples will say when he goes up to heaven.

22 [63] Spirit . . . flesh: probably
not a reference to the eucharistic body of Jesus but to the supernatural and
the natural, as in ⇒ John 3:6. Spirit and life: all
Jesus said about the bread of life is the revelation of the Spirit.